Fulton’s Crab House sits on the border of the old and new at Disney’s upgraded entertainment, dining and shopping district — Disney Springs. On one side is the Marketplace, to which the location was originally tied, on the other, the ghost of Pleasure Island and the newest additions to Disney Springs (both The Landing and Town Center). In the past Fulton’s was acknowledged as the place to eat if you wanted the best seafood or steak, to survive in the future, it would need to be that and more.
With the future in its sights, the restaurant will be closing for a 6 month refurbishment after April 4th. However, Fulton’s Crab House continues to operate until that time and serve the many guests who drop by while at Disney Springs. Even with a remodel ahead, Fulton’s saw a need and began to offer a Sunday Brunch option a few weeks ago. I was invited to review their brunch offerings and happily took up the cause.
Before dining, I spoke with executive chef Mark Boar about the brunch. While evaluating what the location could offer guests, Chef Boar saw an opportunity for adding breakfast options on the weekend and to do it in a way that represented the high level of culinary class Fulton’s has come to represent. He chose to add his spin to some traditional brunch dishes and offer a few new options like the New Orleans BBQ Shrimp he had used in special events. All the brunch options include an egg, of course.
We also talked about the upcoming renovation which Chef Boar said would not only upgrade the interior, but increase kitchen efficiency, add an indoor outdoor bar, a crab boil, and finish the third floor special event area so it could be used as a lounge complete with a full operating bar. Expect roughly the same amount of dining room seating when it re-opens; but with the bar and lounge facilities expanded, Fulton’s will be able to please more guests with their food and hospitality than ever before.
Our table on the second floor had a beautiful view of the lake with Saratoga Springs DVC resort across the way. Our server was attentive and explained our options that morning completely and in a way we could easily follow. In addition the the special Sunday Brunch options there was the full lunch menu available.
We choose to commence our brunch with a few beverages including an amazing Bloody Mary that held in its rim King crab, a jumbo shrimp, candied Neuske bacon, and assorted other goodies. The bloody mary is fantastic creation from the minds of Chef Boar, Cesar (beverage manager ), and general manager and fits in with the recent trend of stacked drinks. A light eater might even consider it a full meal.
My wife had the Acai Sparkler, which was a sweet and strong served in a champagne glass full of Veev, pomegranate, and cava liquor. Don’t let the small portion fool you, it packs a punch. My son had a Blue Lagoon which mixed a special flavor of orange, pineapple, with blue citrus syrup, which he enjoyed.
We sampled three items off the Sunday Brunch menu. The New Orleans BBQ Shrimp was served with a twice cooked panko encrusted 5-minute egg, which when cut open flowed with divine yellow goodness bettered only by the BBQ gravy that sets my new standard for breakfast sauce. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and served atop a wonderfully flaky buttermilk biscuit. This dish was hard to beat.
However, the Crab and Asparagus Benedict gave it a good shot. Two perfectly poached eggs were perched atop asparagus and grilled Nueske bacon slab on a challah roll. The small mountain of food was covered with hollandaise sauce made with clarified butter that had been infused with lobster flavor, a generous portion of jumbo lump crab, and a dash of smoked trout roe. The lobster flavor really came through in the sauce and there was more than enough crab to last the whole dish. I even found the challah a wonderful option for soaking up the flavor of the egg yolk and sauce.
Finally, one member of our party ordered the Kobe Breakfast Burger. This stacked masterpiece features two Kobe beef patties, a fried egg (although we ordered it with no egg), hash browns, candied bacon, cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato, and a sweet onion jam that tied it all together between a bun with just the right consistency to not give in to the tall stack of ingredients, but not to dominate them either. No ketchup or mustard was required to add to this burger, the flavors really were enough as it was served. To top it off, the burger is served with a mini-chocolate shake, because you can’t have a burger without a shake, right?
Although we did not try them, other menu options – the Monte Cristo and Corned Beef Hash – both looked temptingly delicious too.
You can still enjoy the Sunday Brunch on four more weekends before Fulton’s Crab House closes for its refurbishment. We did find prices on the brunch items to be a little high, but not out of the norm for Disney Springs. If you order of the lunch menu, there are definitely items that are on the affordable side, even for a non-Disney restaurant. Reservations are recommended, but not required.